Switchboard apparatus



B. G. LAMME.

SWITCHBOARD APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.29,1915.

WITNESSES Patented May 27, 1919.

INVENTOR Ben/00w G. '4 007/275.

I ATTORNEY I 'EnsTArEsrATENToFFIoE.

BENJAMIN e. LAMME, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC AND n NU Ao UIt qco rP NY, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVA IA.

swITcHiioAItn APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented May 27, 1919.

Application filed April 29, 1915. Serial No. 24,785.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN G. LAMME, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Switchboard Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to switchboard ap: paratus and particularly to means for preventing an are from jumping from one conducting device on the switchboard to another.

The object of my'invention is to provide a conducting screen for so conducting away the heated arcs, which are incident to the opening of a circuit interrupter, that they will not jump to other conducting devices which are mounted upon the switchboard.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a front elevational view of the Switchboard in which is embodied my invention; Fig. 2 is a side .elevational view of the switchboard Shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the Switchboard shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A switchboard panel 1 has mounted on the front thereof a knife blade switch 2, an electrical measuring instrument 3 and a circuit interrupter 4. On a bracket 5 extending from the back of the panel 1, bus bars or conductors 6 are supported. In order to prevent the arcs, that are incident to the tripping of the circuit interrupter 4, from jumping around the upper edge of the panel 1 to the bus bars 6 and to prevent the arcs, that are drawn when the knife blade switch 2 is opened, from jumping to the electrical measuring instrument 3, I provide wire screens 7 and 8 of relatively fine mesh.

The screens 7 and 8 are so constructed that, when the heated gases of the arcs engage the same, the heat will be so rapidly conducted away as to preclude the formation of a low-resistance path between the various devices on the switchboard. The screen 7 is mounted on the front portion of the board between the knife blade switch 2 and the electrical measuring instrument 3. The screen 8 is provided with an angular supporting member 9 that is attached to the back of the panel 1, substantially as shown in the drawings.

The principle of operation of my invention is substantially the same as that of the well known Davy lamp; that is, when the heated arcs are intercepted by the screens, they will be sufliciently cooled to prevent the transmission of the same to other apparatus.

While I have shown specific applications of my invention, it will be understood that various modifications in the applications and in the structural features thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims. A

I claim as my invention:

1. In a switchboard, the combination with spark-producing means and electrical conducting means disposed thereon, of a rela tively fine mesh wire screen disposed between the sparking-producing means and the conducting means for preventing the transmission of the spark to the electrical conducting means.

2. In a switchboard, the combination with circuit interrupters and electrical conductors mounted thereon, of a relatively fine mesh wire screen disposed on the switchboard between the circuit interrupter and the conductors to prevent the conducting of an are between them.

3. In a switchboard, the combination with a circuit interrupter mounted on the front thereof and bus bars mounted on the back thereof, of a meshed wire screen disposed circ'uitinterrup'ting and conducting means the spreading of the are to the conducting mounted on opposite sides of the board, of means. a relatively fine meshed Wire screen, means In testimony whereof, I have hereunto 10 disposed eat thempper edge-.-e--the vswitch-e =1 subscrflgued-;my name thisZQth day; of April 1 board for napidly eondnctingjwawfey the-"1915. I heated gases 1nc1 dent to the operation of the 7 1 V circuit-interruptmg means to thusprevent V v V G. LAMME.

v Washington, D. G. 

